Back pain is the most frequent and expensive health care problem in adults between the ages of 30–50, and is the most common cause of work loss and disability. Eighty-five percent of the people will suffer some form of back discomfort ranging from intermittent back pain to disability at some time during their lives. For all ages, back pain is the most common cause of activity avoidance (such as golf, gardening, hiking, etc.). Noted back specialists concur that back pain is a symptom of physical dysfunction—i.e., the back is not moving and working as it should. Recovery and relief of pain depends on getting one's back moving and working again and restoring normal function. Medical science has proven that sitting compresses the spine more than any activity and is a major cause of spinal dysfunction. Americans are sitting more and more each year, which is a major reason why back pain has become an epidemic and is currently the most expensive medical diagnosis in America—over $100 billion a year. Lumbar traction helps to decompress the spine and restore function. When applied by the patient at home, it drastically reduces the cost to the patient, insurance companies, and society.
The typical tension necessary for lumbar traction may eventually require a tension force up to approximately one half to two thirds of a patient's weight, depending upon the patient's tolerance, the severity of the injury, and the stage of recovery/rehabilitation. Forces of this magnitude can require special equipment that is usually limited to doctors and chiropractor's offices. This can be both inconvenient and expensive for the patient, and unnecessarily crowd therapist's offices while patients undergo lumbar or other tractions. Currently, the fear of being stranded with back pain keeps countless back pain sufferers restricted in their ability to travel and participate in outdoor activities. Moreover, the traveler, camper, hiker, golfer, etc. who is in need of relief and away from his practitioner may have to forego treatment due to a lack of available equipment.
Attempts to create a sufficiently low cost portable traction device for home use have thus far produced unsatisfactory results. Today, many portable traction devices operate on inversion therapy. However, the traction created by hanging upside down has numerous disadvantages. For one, they create considerable intracranial pressure that can lead to several ill effects such as headaches and ocular dysfunction. Second, when in acute pain these devices are very difficult to get in and out of, often causing additional pain or leading to further injury. Third, they commonly rely on an “all or nothing” force, where the patient is fully suspended or not suspended at all with no intermediate position. Fourth, the maximum force is limited by one's body weight. Fifth, the are very bulky and heavy, making them extremely difficult to travel with. Consequently, in the beginning of treatment the force is often too much, and then insufficient in the latter stages of therapy. Other less common traction units include a simple mechanical pulley systems that require the patient to physically apply the required tension while undergoing the treatment. This can be tiring for the patient, and uneven or misapplied tension can result that can further injure the patient. Other portable traction devices utilize pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders to create the traction force. Hydraulic cylinders have the disadvantage of the weight of the hydraulic fluid, making travel with such devices impractical. Pneumatic cylinders with low pressure inputs typically can not maintain an adequate traction force for a sufficient period of time to be effective in a traction device. Thus, the art is in need of a portable lumbar traction device that is easily mounted and stored, while providing variable tensions that suit changing patient needs.